5
mins. Alan Shearer was fouled by Blanc on the
right side about ten yards away from the edge of the box. Laurent
Robert stepped up and curled the perfect free-kick over the wall and into
the top right corner of Barthez's goal. Just as good as Nobby Solano's
against the same side a couple of years ago. A fitting goal for the
200th senior goal against the Mancs/Cockneys. 1-0

29 mins. A cross into our box found Cole's head
and when he nodded across to van Nistelrooy the Dutchman controlled,
turned and shot in one swift movement. 1-1

34
mins. Rob Lee was allowed time and space
to approach their box straight through the middle. His shot had power but
should have been comfortable enough for Barthez to gather. Inexplicably
the French keeper misjudged it and stuck out a leg that only succeeded in
diverting the ball into the roof of the net. 2-1

Half time: Newcastle
2 Man United 1

51
mins. A right wing corner was half cleared to
Robert who hit the ball goalwards. The ball hit a defender and landed at Dabizas'
feet. He knocked it forward and then lashed it past Barthez in the
Gallowgate goal. 3-1

62
mins. A cross from the right found Giggs unmarked on the edge of our
box and a right-footed shot into the corner beat Given comfortably. 3-2

64
mins. Veron volleyed a deflected clearance past
Given from much the same position as the Giggs goal. 3-3

83 mins. Bellamy strode forward and played a perfect ball into the
path of Solano but as in injury time against the mackems, Nobby's shot
was weak. Barthez cleared as far as Shearer who drilled in a shot
destined for the far corner. Wes Brown stuck out a leg but couldn't
prevent the ball finding its target. Subsequently the FA Committee who
dictate such things ruled that the goal was Brown's. 4-3

Full time: Newcastle 4
Man United 3

We Said

Uncle Bobby said:

"It was an absolute belter of a
game. It had everything, really.

"What do you need in a match? You
need spills and thrills and goals at both ends, and the game was on a
knife edge. It was such a remarkable game.

"They do come along every now and
then - the more times the better, of course.

"When you see a Premiership game
of football like that it can be the best view you can ever have of a game,
and both sets of players deserve praise."

"That
game was a dazzler for sure. You saw the spirit and motivation of the club
today. They had chances and we had chances. It could have ended 6-6.

'The key was not being afraid of them.
We said before the game we could win and we believed in ourselves. At 3-3
it was two very good teams at each other's throats."

About Keane's dismissal:

"He got sent off here two years
ago. It's just sad because he's a fantastic player. He's just got to hold
his ground - but he's such a fiery player, how can you do that?"

They Said

Fergie said:

"Giving credit to Newcastle, I
think that when you have a go at United like that with the two wide
players and the pace of Bellamy through the middle, there's an intent
about them - and I think it's difficult to handle.

"A lot of teams will find that
coming up here, and the passion of the crowd helps them also.

"Getting off to the start we did
doesn't help. There wasn't a lot we could do with that strike because it
was superbly hit. But we got back to 1-1 and we could have gone in front
after that.

"But when you score three goals
away from home you should never lose a game. In fact, I thought we were
sure to win the game.

"But credit to them, they kept
producing moments from their front players which caused us bother. It's a
disappointing result for us - but we've always found it quite difficult
playing up here."

About Keane's departure:

"I spoke to Roy and Gary Neville,
who were nearest it, and they said Shearer stopped them taking a throw-in.

"But that's to be expected.
Players are always going to waste time when you're up with a minute to go.
He left the referee with no option, I felt.

"He gets three games for that red
card, and you see some things that go on in the game of football. It makes
it all so stupid.

"You get players elbowing
opponents who get one match. It's quite amazing. He was sent off for
throwing the ball.

"I don't think it's a serious
offence, but in the last minute of the game the crowd are going to force
the referee into a situation like that. A home player would probably not
have been sent off."

Match Stats

100 games up for Bobby, meaning
his record as toon manager now stands at:

Played: 100Won: 44 Drew:
27 Lost: 29

Laurent Robert's opening cracker was the 200th goal we've notched
against the red enemy in all competitions.

Now 13 games unbeaten for Bobby's boys, and 3 unbeaten at
home in succession against Man Utd (3-0, 1-1, 4-3 in chronological order.)

Sylvain Distin became the 92nd player to appear for
Newcastle in the Premiership - even though he didn't actually touch the
ball.

Waffle

(Aptly named this time out - not for us a
deconstruction of the formation or snide remarks about how Nistelrooy
looks like that English tennis player with the American accent. Instead
pure stream of consciousness nonsense, straight from the optics, no
mixer.)

Game summary: Robert out-Beckhamed
Beckham, Bellamy ran like the wind, Given rode his luck and justified his
selection. Lee and Acuna wore holes in centre field with their tireless
harrying. Shearer was Shearer, Elliott was something approaching the old
Elliott and Griffin was 1000% better than Wednesday. O'Brien and Dabizas
just about held out despite threatening to buckle when Scholes appeared,
and Solano wasn't quite at the races but still played his part.

PS: the absence of Bassedas from the bench may prove symbolic - Bobby
preferring two defenders and two forwards as cover for his team and
leaving an alleged international midfielder kicking his heels. After his
disgraceful non-performance on Wednesday, it was hopefully his arse that
was kicked....

Three times in a week we've notched four
goals, three times we've recorded victories, and three times the
bright-eyed and ebullient figure of Bobby Robson has appeared before the
TV cameras. However, while the wins against Boro and Brentford were
welcome, if slightly predictable, then this titanic accomplishment was the
one that really mattered, to him and us. It's always nice to beat them lot
on a one-off basis, notwithstanding the fact that they invariably have the
last laugh....

The pressures on Robson are as
much self-imposed as they are thrust on him by the demanding audience of
Newcastle fans and critics. For a bloke of any age to take on the
responsibility is a mammoth task requiring a curious mixture of vanity,
confidence and ambition. For someone of pensionable age it's downright
barmy.

Maybe it's just that he wanted to see things right at his "own"
club and being a fan, was as sick as we were of moody Dutchmen waging their
own jealous wars on the playing staff andmiserable
jocks heading for the golf course at the first sign of bother.

Recent events had seemed to be getting
the old boy down, with pre-season fixture and injury frustrations
culminating in his embittered reaction to the departure of his confidante
Wadsworth. Something needed to be done to restore his faith, and as most
of those present on Saturday would concur, what goes on in the green heart
of St.James' Park is all that matters. The smile of Robson's face at 5pm
showed he felt the same as those people toasting his team in nearby ale
houses.

Supporters' moans and whines about the shortcomings of the board and
everything from the colour of the away strip to the beefiness of the
bovril seem to melt away when the product on the field is right. For 90
minutes last Saturday it was damn near perfect.

Alan Shearer was spot on when he said post-match that in a way this 4-3
victory was better than the famous 5-0 battering of the same opponents.
The very essence of Newcastle United isn't in strolling to big scores,
it's in battling for every kick and inch of ground and triumphing with a
bit a style, allied to tenacious competitiveness. It's not being smug and
conceited like the global occupants of the Milburn upper corner, and it
certainly isn't in acting like a flouncing ponce when your side is losing,
Roy.

No amount of painted faces and stylised
fizzy pop commercials will change that. This place we love should be a
snarling bearpit not a bloody library. The team has to inspire the fans
off their collective arses now the thought police demand we sit down.
Intimidation should be our middle name, not hoying bottles or petrol
bombs, just good old-fashioned fervour, appreciation, support and noise.
50,000 people paying their hard-earned demand a certain level of
performance and effort. If that is forthcoming, the response from the
Geordies can be awe-inspiring.

Being labelled "the
entertainers" a few years ago was in tribute to our crowd-pleasing
ability, despite the fact we never won owt. For every 5-0 there was a 4-3
loss. Whether we can ever anchor the cut and thrust of an attacking force
to a bedrock of defence is debatable, but after some of the crap we've
lived through post-Keegan, this season's entertainment so far is long
overdue. Bellamy and Robert have played a handful of games between them
for Newcastle, but already have started to cotton on to what it's all
about up here - the Silvio's and Andre-arses of this world
didn't.

Let's just hope that we can keep the run
and form going, along with that all-important slice of good fortune. Dyer
and Cort will return at some stage, it would be nice not to be pinning our
hopes on them to salvage our season in the way we were earlier this year.
At the very least, our unbeaten run is winning the points to keep us away
from the bottom of the table. A sense of proportion, as well as of the
ridiculous is always required to watch this lot.

Given the utter unpredictability of the
club, Bobby may not see too many more days like this one. However, in the
absence of that elusive trophy, this result stands as a monument to the
manager - his motivation, his tactics, his purchases. Who knows whether
this is a one-off or the start of something more substantial - we might
know a little more next Sunday night, after we've done battle with dirty
don and the cockney curse.